Short Sale Hardship Letters

The latest statistics show that over 70% of Las Vegas home-owners are “underwater” on the value of their home.  Short Sales will continue to be a large part of our market for a number of years and one of the key components of the short sale package is the hardship letter that the homeowner writes to the bank. We have found working in the Las Vegas short sale market that this letter causes the most concern and confusion for our clients.

The Hardship Letter should be an honest and heartfelt statement outlining the circumstances that have created the problem. It should include 3 main components:

1. A brief apology and specific statement asking the lender for a “short sale”.
2. A description of the steps the homeowner has taken (used credit cards, borrowed from family, borrowed from retirement account, etc.) to stay current on the mortgage.
3. A clear statement that the homeowner has extended all available options to stay currrent on the mortgage and that the Short Sale is the only remaining option other than foreclosure.

Although it is important for the client to relate all of the financial details, try  to avoid a lengthy letter and  keep the information to one page.

Attach any documents that will support the homeowners hardship such as:

*Layoff notice

*Letter from employer detailing reduction in pay or hours

*Cancellation notices due to non-payment

*Letters from doctors regarding injury or illness

*Disability benefits letter

*Divorce or separation papers

*Receipts for excessive payments fro medications or emergency payments

*Any documents supporting a family crisis hardship

Sample Hardship Letter Example:

It is with great regret that I am writing this letter to ask the bank to please accept a short sale on our home.

As a result of upward adjustments to our monthly mortgage payment, my wife and I are unable to afford our mortgage. As I sit here today its’ not clear to me how I ever thought that we could afford the mortgage once payments started adjusting. I wish my loan officer would have explained to us where our monthly payments were going to be when they adjusted.

We have borrowed money from family and we have taken cash advances on credit cards, but we are falling further and further behind with no real hope of affording the payment. At this point, we can’t do it any longer.

Both my wife and I are very sorry that this has happened. We are losing our dream house, and we know you are losing too. We just don’t have any other options.

Please work with us on the Short Sale. We don’t want to go through foreclosure, but if we can’t do a Short Sale we will not be able to avoid it.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

If you are a Las Vegas area homeowner facing a possible foreclosure and wanting to learn more about your options – including a Las Vegas short sale, contact us today for a no obligation short sale consultation.

Kathryn Bovard is experienced with the often lengthy and stressful Las Vegas short sale process.   If you are contemplating a  Las Vegas short sale , she can assist and navigate you through the entire process. Call Kathryn direct at 702-348-7191 to schedule a short sale consultation today.

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